


The Haunting of Apartment 316

by orphan_account



Series: Halloween One-Shots [3]
Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Ghosts, Happy halloween, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-01
Updated: 2015-11-01
Packaged: 2018-04-29 08:10:15
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5121176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kili's apartment is haunted. It isn't a problem until the ghost because jealous of Fili.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Haunting of Apartment 316

It was a running joke that Kili’s apartment was haunted.

Something would go missing, and Kili would blame the ghost that lived there with him. He’d sleep through his alarm, and obviously the ghost had turned of his alarm. He’d burn his dinner, and it was the ghost’s fault for turning the oven on too high an temperature.

He was never serious, of course. Everyone knew how forgetful he was, so it was really no surprise when things went missing or he didn’t set an alarm or he put the oven on the wrong temperature. His apartment wasn’t really haunted. That was ridiculous.

There was no such thing as ghosts, after all.

And that is what he wholeheartedly agreed.

Until he started dating Fili.

Well, it didn’t start when he first started dating Fili. It took a few months for things to get bad.

Looking back, Kili was pretty sure things didn’t get worse sooner was because Fili and Kili spent most of their time at Fili’s place.

It had really just made sense to gravitate to Fili’s place. Fili, after all, lived in a penthouse his uncle had bought for him after he had graduated med school while Kili lived in a crummy studio in one of the older buildings downtown.

They actually didn’t live that far apart, really. Fili’s building was a new high-rise that was built during the whole “revitalize downtown” schtick the city had going a few years bad. Despite how different their homes were, there was only about two blocks separating them.

They had met by bumping into each other at the coffee shop on the corner, as cliche as that was. And he meant that literally. Fili had been trying to walk and do something on his phone, and Kili had been half asleep as he stumbled into the shop for a coffee before work. 

In the end, Kili had ended up scalded and feeling a little more sympathetic towards the lady that sued McDonald’s over the hot coffee. Fili had been mortified.

Their first date had been at the coffee shop, though. And that had bled into dinner at the pizza place across the street. And then ice cream around the corner.

Honestly, Kili was prepared to drag Fili to his apartment that night and have his dirty way with the blond. He had _never_ connected with someone as quickly and as seamlessly as Fili.

But the blond had wanted to keep wait, take thing slow, build their relationship so it would last.

Which had lasted for about two more dates until Kili had met Fili at his place for their fourth date (a whole four days later, mind you) and the blond had pulled him inside and to the bedroom immediately, unable to keeps his lips and hands to himself long enough for them to even shut the door properly. Thankfully, no one had access to take the elevator up to the top floor without Fili buzzing them up.

And of course, since Fili’s place was far superior to his own, Kili had always suggested going back there instead. To be honest, he was slightly embarrassed of his home when compared to Fili’s, not that he ever let on that that was the real reason.

Fili’s penthouse, with its gleaming hardwood floors, its plush sofas, its state of the art kitchen, and its massive and luxurious bed put his grubby little apartment to shame. 

Put _him_ to shame.

Because he and Fili came from different worlds. Fili’s doting uncle was the CEO of a Fortune 500 company and came from a long line of wealth that dated all the way back to 17th century Scotland, probably further, but that’s as far as they had traced it.

Kili came from nothing. His father had never been in the picture, and his mother had been a drug addict who had gotten thrown in prison when he was sixteen for attempted bank robbery, of all the stupid things in the world. It had honestly been a relief to him when she was arrested. It meant that he would stop stealing the money he had earned for food and he was actually able to eat at least two decent meals a day.

Fili, a trust fund baby that didn’t need to work a day in his life if he didn’t want to, had become a pediatrician on top of starting dozen of charities throughout the world to help benefit underprivileged children, dedicating his life to doing _good_ in the world.

Kili had worked his way through college, focusing on getting the best-paying job that he could out of a bachelor’s degree, unable to stomach the idea of taking out more loans for any type of graduate studies. He had settled on actuarial mathematics, and had taken a job as an actuary in a large actuarial firm.

It was boring and depressing as hell, but it paid well and he kept regular hours. And because he was _good_ at it, he had gotten raises and bonuses every year at his job. He had managed to live frugally enough so that he almost had all of his student loans paid off, but he was beginning to regret his meager lifestyle when compared to his high-class boyfriend’s.

So when Fili asked him why they always went to his place, he quietly panicked as he wracked his brain for an answer that didn’t make him sound like a complete loser.

“I just… feel like you’re trying to keep me out of your life,” Fili explained as Kili’s silence stretched on. “Kili, I love you and I want to be part of your world.”

Kili’s mind stuttered at that. “You love me?” he asked in a choked tone.

Fili cringed. “Is it too soon to say that? It’s only been four months, I know, but it’s true,” he said firmly. “I do.”

Kili’s heart melted. “I love you too,” he told him as a smile crept over his face. “And I’m not shutting you out of my world, I swear! It’s just… my world kinda pales in comparison to yours…”

“You are my world,” Fili said earnestly before cringing again. “That was cheesy. Sorry. I mean it though.”

“You’re lucky I love you, you big dork,” Kili said with a wide grin. It dimmed a bit and he gave Fili a nervous look. “Promise you won’t realize how out of my league you are and dump me as soon as you see my apartment?” he asked, only half joking.

The blond rolled his eyes. “Of course not. You could live in a cardboard box under a bridge and I would still love you. Although, I might force you to move in with me if that were the case,” Fili said, looking thoughtful. “Now that makes me hope your apartment is a death trap so that I can get you in my bed on a permanent basis.”

Kili knew he meant that as a joke, but that didn’t stop the jolt of want that shot through him. He pushed the thought away. It was way too early in their relationship to be thinking about moving in together.

So they went to Kili’s apartment that night.

Kili cooked a frozen lasagna for them and they curled up on his bed afterward and watched Netflix on his laptop for about half an hour before they got caught up in each other and the laptop was placed on the floor.

“Fili!” Kili gasped as the blond slowly sank into him. “Please.”

“Shh, baby, I’m here,” Fili murmured, pressing kisses along Kili’s brow as he trembled beneath him.

Kili moaned as Fili began to move, not caring about the thin walls even as his bed began making a knocking sound against them. His hands clutched at Fili’s back, blunt nails digging into golden skin. They both panted as they careened towards orgasm, happiness mixing with pleasure as Kili realized that Fili wanted him even _here_ , in his shitty little apartment.

He stared up into Fili’s bright blue eyes, huffing a laugh at the smug look on his boyfriend’s face. “You don’t have to… be so… arrogant…” he gasped out before breaking off with a moan as Fili’s hand wrapped around him.

Fili chuckled, annoyingly composed for someone buried balls deep in another man. “You’d be arrogant to if you were making such a gorgeous creature tremble with pleasure beneath you.”

He tried shooting him a mock glare but something over Fili’s shoulder caught his eye.

He screamed as he saw the shadow standing at the foot his bed, silhouette in the unmistakable shape of a woman.

Fili reacted instantly, pulling out of him and whirling around to face the unknown threat, but by the time he had turned, the shadowy figure was gone.

“Sh-sh-she was right there,” Kili stammered, pointing a shaky finger towards where the woman had stood, all previous arousal gone as terror welled inside of him. “Fili, she was _watching_ us!”

“Who?” he asked, settling back on the bed to comfort his boyfriend, who was trembling for an entirely different reason now.

Kili shook his head. “I don’t know. But I _saw_ her.”

“It must have just a trick of the light,” Fili soothed, giving Kili a kiss on the forehead before reaching down and removing the used condom.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly, feeling embarrassed about freaking out and ruining the mood.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Fili told him as he settled back down and pulled the comforter over them both.

“You’ll stay here tonight, right?” Kili all but begged, not wanting to be alone with the image of the woman at the end of his bed in his mind. Even if it was just a trick of the light.

Fili smiled at him. “Of course, I will,” he answered, brushing a kiss over Kili’s lips. “I love you.”

Kili beamed at him. “I love you, too.”

 

 

He put the shadowy figure out of his mind in the morning. It seemed like a stupid thing to worry about when he had a gorgeous blond naked in his bed and kissing him awake.

“So you survived the night in my run-down little hovel?” he asked, grinning at Fili as their lips parted.

“Well, it was a trial, but the company was good,” he replied with a smirk. “Why do you stay here if you don’t like it?”

Kili shrugged. “It’s not that I don’t like it. I mean, obviously it’s not as great as your place,” he said with a roll of his eyes. “But we can’t all live in penthouses. But I’m not used to having much, and it’s pretty cheap.”

“Not used to much?” Fili asked with a furrowed brow. “What do you mean? You never talk about your family.”

“There’s not much to talk about,” he muttered, not meeting Fili’s eyes. “I never knew my father and my mother is a junkie doing ten to fifteen,” he admitted. “Nothing really to be proud of.”

“You’re wrong,” Fili stated, cupping his face and catching his eyes. “You should be proud that you went to college and made a life for yourself. Not a lot of people with your background could’ve done that. You have so much strength and courage, Kili.”

“Maybe,” Kili conceded, not entirely sure it was true. If he had real strength and courage, he would’ve pursued what he loved instead of settling for something that would make him money.

But he had grown up hungry. He hadn’t particularly wanted to experience that ever again. So he had become an actuary and now he was able to afford to eat whatever he wanted.

That was worth a boring job.

“Maybe I’ll move to a new place once I get my loans paid off,” he said, changing the subject. “That should be done before the year’s out.”

“Is it too soon to hope you may just consider moving in with me?” Fili asked hopefully.

Kili huffed a laugh. “Probably,” he said, leaning in for another kiss. “But it’s tempting all the same,” he breathed over Fili’s lips as they broke apart.

Fili smirked before pulling him in for another, deeper kiss as he pressed their bodies together. “When does your lease run out?” he asked breathlessly before kissing a trail down Kili’s throat.

“Th-three months,” Kili gasped out as the blond latched onto the sensitive skin right above his collar bone.

Fili gave him a positively wicked grin. “Then I shall have to be extremely tempting for three months.”

Kili was sure he was going to do an excellent job, if the way he was kissing down his torso before dipping _lower_ was anything to go by.

 

 

“You think it’s too soon,” he accused Tauriel Monday at work, after he had told her about his and Fili’s conversation about moving in together.

The redhead pursed her lips as she tilted her head thoughtfully. “I think it’s risky,” she said finally.

Kili had to resist rolling his eyes at her answer. Like him, Tauriel was an actuary. Unlike him, though, Tauriel loved her job. The numbers, the risk assessment, the cool, clinical reasoning, she loved it all.

“Four months is a short time,” she continued.

“It’d be seven before I actually moved in,” he reasoned.

“That’s only a little better,” she told him with a frown before her face morphed into an expression of horror. “Kili, you’re not moving in with him for his money, are you?”

“What! No!” he cried, angry that she would even think such a thing. “I don’t need anyone else’s money,” he snapped heatedly.

“Sorry!” she said placatingly, holding up her hands defensively. “It was just one explanation of why you were rushing that I had to eliminate.”

“I love him,” Kili said in a huff, leaning back in his chair and folding his arms over his chest. “Isn’t that enough to want to live with him?”

She having him a searching look before shaking her head. “Yeah, it is, Kili,” she said at last. “And I’m happy for you. It’s a good thing that you’ve finally met someone you trust enough to love so fully.”

He winced at the reminder. That had been a problem for him in the past. With his mother being what she was, it had been hard for him to let anyone close to him. Tauriel had been his friend since freshman year and had seen firsthand how he kept most of his boyfriends at arms length, never letting them get too close.

That had never been an issue with Fili. Well, unless you counted keeping him from coming to his apartment for so long, but that was for an entirely different reason.

His Monday went by blessedly quickly, for all that it was extremely busy. They had just taken on a new client, who was considering taking over a failing company and wanted the firm to assess the risks of the acquisition. By the end of the day, he was ready to collapse on his bed with the Chinese food he had picked up and binge watch Netflix.

Those plans went out the window, though, when he opened his door and was met with a trashed apartment.

Kili felt sick as he clutched his bag of food tightly, whipping his head around the apartment as if expecting someone to still be there. Seeing no one, he stepped in the apartment carefully, setting the food on kitchen counter as tiptoed to the bathroom. He sagged in relief as he found it, too, empty.

He pulled out his phone and quickly called 911 to report a break in as he surveyed the damage, frowning as he realized that nothing seemed to have been taken. Even his laptop, probably the one expensive thing he owned, was still there. It was smashed beyond repair, but it was _there_.

Who would someone break into his apartment just to trash it and leave?

It felt oddly personal to him and he shuddered. A random robbery was bad enough, but someone had to have targeted him _specifically_ for this.

He looked at his phone again, debating for only a second before dialing Fili. He was feeling unnerved and needed the blond’s steadying presence right then.

“Hello, sunshine,” Fili’s cheerful voice answered.

Any other day and Kili would have scoffed at the ridiculous nickname and told him he was ridiculous, but right now he’d let Fili call him anything he wanted as long as he came over.

“Hey, are you home?” he asked.

Fili sighed on the other end of the phone. “Unfortunately not,” he replied. “Flu season is in full swing and I still have a couple of patients waiting to be seen.”

“Oh…” he said, biting his lip in indecision. He didn’t want to worry Fili if he was at work. And sick kids definitely took precedence over him. “Never mind then. I’ll let you get back to work.”

“Kili, what’s wrong?” Fili asked in concern.

He took a deep breath and put on a brave face, even though the blond couldn’t see it. “Nothing that can’t wait until after you’re done at work,” he told him. “But can you come over when you’re done?”

“Of course!” he told him. “But are you sure? I can get Sheila to cover for me. She owes me one and is wrapping up with her last patient.”

Kili _really_ wanted to tell him yes.Wanted to beg him to get his partner to take his patients and to come _now_ , but he didn’t want to be selfish. Besides, it wasn’t like he was any danger right now. He was just being a coward.

“No, it’s fine,” he told him in a forced calm voice. “The police will be here soon and I’ll—”

“ _Police_?!?” Fili interrupted him in an alarmed tone. “Kili, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he assured. “My apartment was broken into but nothing was taken and I already called the cops.”

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” the blond said abruptly, hanging up the phone before Kili could argue any further.

Kili frowned, but couldn’t be annoyed. Not when the knot of anxiety that had been twisting in his stomach loosened a bit knowing that Fili would be here soon.

The police arrived before Fili did. They seemed concerned that nothing had been taken, making Kili feel validated in his fear.

“Do you have any reason to believe someone would be looking for something here?” one of the officers asked him as the other poked around the apartment.

He shook his head. “The only thing I really kept here of any value was my laptop. I didn’t keep any cash or anything.”

“The thief may have thought you did,” the other officer said as he joined them. “It’s suspicious that they didn’t take the laptop, but it doesn’t mean this was someone trying to hurt you. It could’ve been a junkie looking for cash who got angry and trashed the place when they couldn’t find anything.”

It made him feel a bit better. He could see his mother doing something like that when she was jonesing for a high. It certainly made more sense than someone targeting him specifically.

“Still, it might be better if you stayed somewhere else, just for the night,” the first officer suggested. “Do you have someone you can call?”

“My boyfriend is on his way,” he told them.

“No,” Fili said, coming up from behind him and wrapping an arm around his waist. “He’s here.”

The officers nodded. “Well, there’s nothing more we can do tonight. We’ll see what fingerprints we can get and run them through the system. If it’s a junkie, we’ll probably get a hit. We’ll let you know.”

Fili nodded. “Do you need him for anything else? I think he’s dealt with enough tonight.”

“That’s about all we can do tonight,” one of them said. “If you think of anyone who might have done this, call us. We’ll finish up here tonight and you can come back tomorrow.”

Kili nodded, taking a card that the cop offered him before allowing Fili to lead him out of the building and into his car.

“Sorry you had to leave work,” he muttered as they started the short drive to Fili’s building.

“I’m more sorry your place got trashed,” Fili told him as he turned the corner. “I’m glad you called.”

Kili gave him a tight smile as they pulled into the parking garage beneath Fili’s building. “Me too.”

“I’m guessing you haven’t had dinner?” Fili said as they entered the penthouse.

Kili thought of the Chinese food he had left on his kitchen counter and sighed. He hated wasting food. “I’m not really hungry.”

Fili frowned at him. “You should eat. How about you go take a warm shower and I’ll whip us up some dinner.”

That sounded like a good idea so Kili acquiesced without a fuss, passing in Fili’s bedroom long enough to grab a pair of sweatpants he had left there one night and steal one of Fili’s hooded sweatshirts.

When he had showered and dressed, Fili was waiting for him with a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon. He smiled at the food. Breakfast for dinner was his favorite. Of course, Fili had remembered that.

The blond ushered him to the sofa with the food, knowing Kili wouldn’t eat on it unless he was told to. He thought the brunet was ridiculous, but the sofa was white and probably cost more than he had paid for his car! Still, he was grateful for the soft cushions that he sank comfortably into, especially with Fili snuggling close to him.

Fili turned the television on and found an episode of _Modern Family_ for them to watch as they ate.

“Thank you,” Kili said as he nibbled on a piece of bacon.

“It’s just eggs and bacon,” Fili replied with a soft smile. “No need to thank me.”

He shook his head. “No, for leaving work and coming over and then letting me stay here,” he elaborated.

“Kili, you don’t have to thank me for being there for you,” he said seriously, setting his plate on the coffee table and wrapping his arms around him. “I love you. I’m _always_ going to be there for you.”

That made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. What was more was that he actually trusted Fili to keep his word and always be there for him. “I love you, too.”

Fili smiled down at him. “I know. Now, what say we finish eating and then hit the hay? It’s been an exhausting night.” Kili nodded in agreement. “And tomorrow,” Fili continued. “I’ll help you clean up your place and install a deadbolt on your door.”

“I don’t want you to miss work just for me,” he said with a frown.

“I’m not,” Fili assured him. “I’m missing work for my own peace of mind. I’m not letting you out of my sight for a couple of days. Sorry if that inconveniences you.”

Kili chuckled at that before turning back to his eggs and bacon. He finished his food and stifled a yawn. His empty plate was taken from his hands as Fili got up to put them in the dishwasher before coming back to pull Kili to his feet.

“Come on,” he said with a soft smile. “Bed time.”

He nodded and let Fili lead him to the bed and tuck him in, curling up against the blond once he slid under the covers with him.

With Fili’s arms around him, sleep came to him easily.

 

 

“I don’t mind the invasion of privacy as much as I mind the mess left behind,” Kili sighed in exasperation as he swept up the broken glass in the kitchen. 

Fili laughed from where he was installing the deadlock on the door. “Yes, why can’t criminals be cleaner?”

“Exactly!” Kili cried triumphantly as he threw away the last of the glass. He turned towards the mess of food that had been thrown on the floor from the cabinets and the fridge. He scowled. “Good thing I don’t keep much food here.”

“Why is that?” Fili asked curiously.

“I don’t know,” he said as he picked up the cans and boxes of food that were salvageable. “I guess I had to plan out meals so carefully when I was younger to make my money go as far as possible. Now, I have enough money that I can eat what I want, when I want. And I never know what I’ll want to eat on a particular day so I don’t want to buy too much at a time.” He noticed Fili was looking at him intently. “What?”

He shook his head. “Nothing. It’s just… You’re amazing, you know that?”

He blushed and began to clean up the food that had smashed all over the floor. “You’re the amazing one.”

“No,” Fili said, turning back to the deadbolt. “I grew up with money and a loving family and never wanted for anything. Success was practically spoon-fed to me. But you… Nothing has been easy for you and you put me to shame.”

Kili rolled his eyes. “Grew up with everything and still good enough to try and take care of all the needy kids in the world. You’re pretty amazing yourself.”

“It’s settled then,” Fili said with finality, standing up and sweeping Kili into his arms. “We’re both amazing and were meant for each other.”

That surprised a laugh out of Kili. “I think I can live with that,” he said, leaning in to give Fili a peck of a kiss. “Now back to work,” he added playfully, whirling away from Fili and shooting him a mock stern look.

Fili pouted but went back to work on the lock.

Kili crouched back down with a smile on his face, not even mind how disgusting mopping up the broken eggs on the floor was. He turned his head slightly and gasped loudly as he caught sight of an angry face in the reflective surface of the oven.

He scrambled back and tried to get to his feet but ended up smacking his head into the edge of the counter.

“Kili?!” Fili cried, rushing over and helping him up. “What happened?”

He whirled around to look at the oven, but whatever he had seen was gone. “I thought I saw… something…”

There hadn’t been a face in the reflection on the oven. Just like there hadn’t been a shadowy woman at the end of his bed the other night. Things like that didn’t exist. They weren’t _real_. 

“How’s your head?” Fili asked as he inspected the red spot that was undoubtedly blooming on Kili’s forehead.

He hissed as Fili’s gentle fingers brushed the sore spot. “It’s not that bad,” he told him. “I think I’ll live.”

“Good,” he told him seriously. “Because I’ve gotten quite attached to you. Now what did you think you saw?”

“A face,” Kili admitted with a sigh. “In the oven. I think I’m just jumpy and got scared at another trick of the light.”

“Hmm,” Fili said, looking at the oven thoughtfully. 

“It’s stupid,” he told him with a shake of his head. “But can we just finish cleaning up and I come home with you for another night?”

“You can always stay the night with me,” the blond said, kissing the non-injured side of his forehead gently. “Let’s get this mess cleared out.”

It took them most of the morning, but they finally got the apartment back to being a livable space. Kili quickly packed an overnight bag before they went out for lunch.

He knew he couldn’t hide at Fili’s forever, but the memory of those dark, angry eyes that he saw in the oven haunted him.

Which was stupid. Because there _weren’t_ any eyes. Because what he was thinking in the back of his mind _couldn’t_ be true. It was stupid to even consider it.

Still, it wouldn’t hurt to do a little digging, right?

“Can I borrow your laptop?” he asked Fili once they got back to the penthouse.

“Sure,” he told him, nodding at its place on the table before flopping back on the sofa. “But you have to come over here and cuddle with me as you use it.”

He shook his head as he grabbed the computer and joined Fili on the sofa. “You just wanna make sure I’m not looking up porn on your laptop.”

“Like you need to look at porn when you have your very willing and sexy boy-toy cuddled next to you on the couch,” Fili said, waggling his eyebrows.

Kili snorted and opened the computer, biting his lip as it booted up. “You’re gonna think it’s silly,” he said finally as he clicked on the internet browser.

“I’ll only think it’s silly if you think it’s silly,” Fili vowed.

“I _do_ think it’s silly,” he confessed. “And I think I’m just freaking myself out but… I just want to know.”

“You lost me,” Fili said in confusion.

Kili sighed. “I think my apartment is haunted.”

Saying it out loud, it sounded even more ridiculous than it had in his head. Fili, for his part though, didn’t laugh and didn’t tell him that there was no such thing as ghosts. Kili wouldn’t have blamed him if he had.

He typed his building address into Google, feeling ridiculous.

Of course, the first link that popped was for the leasing office of “Applewood Apartments.” The following links were just to listings for apartments for rent.

He bit his lip before typing “Applewood Apartments Sacramento death” into the search bar.

“Kili, do you really want to search that?” Fili asked him before he hit the search button. “If something pops up, you’ll just freak yourself out more.”

He sighed as he clicked the button. “I have to know.”

The very first link that popped up was to a news article titled “Murder/Suicide at Applewood Apartments.”

“Shit,” Fili breathed, grabbing the computer for Kili’s slackened grip and clicking on the news article. He scanned it while Kili very carefully looked away from the screen, suddenly feeling ill and not wanting to know anything more. “It says here that this woman named Felicia Thorn went crazy twenty years ago and killed her husband after discovering he was having an affair. She then drowned herself in the bathtub.”

“D-does it say what apartment?” he asked shakily.

“No,” he said before shutting the computer. “Kili, this doesn’t mean anything. No ghost is going to hurt you in your apartment. Even if your place was haunted, you’ve lived there for what, three years?”

“Five, actually,” he informed.

“And there’s been no evidence of a ghost in that time, right?”

Kili’s stomach felt like it was in knots. “Well, there might have been. I just… kinda brushed some things off as me being forgetful… You think I’m crazy, don’t you?”

“No!” Fili was quick to protest. “I think you’ve had a couple of pretty frightening nights.”

“Well, I think I’m crazy,” he said in a resigned tone. “The idea that my apartment is haunted is just nuts, right?”

“It’s a little far-fetched, but I wouldn’t call it nuts,” the blond told him, ensconcing Kili in his embrace. “I just don’t want you to be scared.”

Kili wasn’t sure that was a possibility at the moment.

 

 

He stared at his door for a few moments, the tarnished gold of the “316” glinting at him mockingly. He was nervous to be back home, wishing he could just go to Fili’s and stay another night there. But he couldn’t do that. Not that Fili wouldn’t let him. The blond had made it perfectly clear that he was always welcome.

But he knew that if he stayed another night at Fili’s and put off his irrational fear of his own apartment for another day, he’d never be able to work up the courage to come back.

He steeled his nerves and walked into his apartment, setting his bag by the door and steadfastly walking to his dresser and changing into some sweats. He barely even looked around the apartment, instead going straight to his bed and sliding under the covers.

It may have been cheating to go out with Tauriel after work for dinner and a movie, ensuring he’d get back home late enough that he could just go to bed.

His phone buzzed with a text as he settled back onto his pillow.

It was from Fili. _You make it home yet?_

_Just got home,_ he texted back. _Tired and going to bed._

_Night! Love you!_

_Love you 2!_

He sighed as he shut his eyes, willing sleep to come to him. It took a while, but he finally settled into an uneasy sleep.

 

He jerked awake some time later, heart beating wildly and not understanding why. He glanced around the room and his breath caught in his throat as he turned his head and a woman’s angry face was inches from his own, her head resting on the pillow next to his.

“You betrayed me,” she hissed at him. “You will pay.”

Before he could protest that he didn’t even _know_ her, she had disappeared.

He scrambled for his phone and dialed Fili up. It took a few rings, but his boyfriend’s groggy voice finally answered. “Hello?”

“Fili! I saw her again!” he said in a rush as he fumbled with his shoes with shaky hands. “She was… God, Fili, she was in bed with me!” he cried in horror. “She _spoke_ to me!”

“Kili, just calm down. I’m on my way over,” he told him. “Just stay put.”

Kili shook his head. “I’ll meet you downstairs,” he said. “I can’t stay in this apartment another second. Can you… stay on the phone with me?” he asked as he moved towards the door.

“Yeah, just keep talking to me, okay? I’ll be there in like two minutes.”

“Good. That’s good,” Kili said, grabbing his keys and unlocking the door. When he tried to open the door, though, it wouldn’t budge. “Fili, the door won’t open,” he whimpered, fear like he had never known welling within him.

“You’re okay, Kili. It’s probably just stuck. Pull it harder,” he suggested. “I’m almost there.”

He jerked at the door and cried in dismay as it stayed put. “It won’t open! Fili, I—”

The phone flew from his hand. His breath was coming erratically now as his eyes searched the apartment for the threat. He sobbed in despair as a fire suddenly blazed up in the middle of the floor, quickly consuming the carpet in the area and jumping to the kitchen counter and his dresser.

He backed into the door, pulling uselessly at the knob and knowing it wouldn’t open.

He was going to die here.

This was crazy. A _ghost_ was going to kill him. Ghosts weren’t supposed to _exist_ , let alone _kill_ people.

The door was useless as an escape route, so he flew to the only window that wasn’t blocked by the blaze. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the window with the fire escape.

Of course, the window wouldn’t open either. He grabbed his jacket from by the door and rushed back to the window, wrapping the jacket around his arm and ramming his elbow as hard as he could into the glass.

Thankfully, though the ghost might have been good at keeping door and windows closed, she couldn’t stop glass from shattering.

He cleared as much of the jagged glass away before leaning out the window at the street below. He could probably survive a three story, right?

He was sure he probably had a better shot at the fall than he did with the fire.

He saw Fili pull up in his car and hop out in alarm.

“Kili!” he cried. Kili could see the fear in his blue eyes even from three stories up.

He took a deep breath and climbed onto the windowsill, hissing as bits of glass bit into his hands and thighs. If he lowered himself down carefully, the drop wouldn’t be so far.

He was just contemplating how he was going to maneuver himself to do that when two ice-cold hands pushed him from behind and sent him toppling out of the window.

“Kili!” he heard Fili cry in alarm.

He braced himself for a hard impact of concrete, but instead of meeting the hard earth, he slammed into the slightly softer body of his boyfriend.

He groaned as he lifted himself off of Fili carefully, panicked that he had hurt the blond. “Fili! Are you okay?” he asked, ignoring the ache in his own body.

“Me? Are _you_ okay? Shit, Kili!” Fili cried, crushing the brunet to his body and holding on to him desperately. “What happened?”

“Felicia Thorn tried to kill me,” he whispered, unable to believe it himself. “Fili… a _ghost_ tried to kill me!”

“Shh,” Fili said, rubbing his hands up and down Kili’s shivering back. “You’re safe now. Nothing’s going to happen to you.”

 

 

_Three Months Later_

Kili blinked open his eyes and grinned.

It was Christmas.

He rolled onto of Fili and peppered the blond with kisses until he woke up. 

“You are a child!” the blond accused with a laugh as his arms snaked around his waist to hold him in place on top of him.

“It’s _Christmas_!”

Christmas in his new home with his boyfriend. He had never imagined he would be this happy.

Sure, the circumstances of his moving in weren’t exactly happy, what with nearly being burned to death by a jealous ghost, but it had all turned around wonderfully perfect in the end.

“It is Christmas,” Fili said, smirking mischievously as he reached under the bed and pulling out a medium sized box wrapped in shiny red paper. “So Merry Christmas, Kili.”

Kili sat back and mock-glared at him. “We said we weren’t giving each other presents,” he accused.

“I lied,” the blond said with an unapologetic shrug.

Kili grinned, setting the gift aside and scrambling towards the nightstand and pulling out a small box wrapped in green paper. “So did I,” he told him matter-of-factly, handing over the box. “Open mine first.”

Fili shook his head as he peeled back the green paper, opening the flat box and grinning as he pulled out the tickets. “We’re going to New York for New Years?”

Kili smiled sheepishly. “Your mother connected with me on Facebook and we talked a bit. Apparently you were trying to give me time to get used to the idea of meeting your family before you brought it up? At least, that’s what she said you told her. She seemed to think that you had told me horror stories about them and wanted to set me straight and assure me they wouldn’t embarrass either of us to death.”

“I don’t know if she can actually make that promise,” Fili joked before turning serious. “I know you’re not used to all the prying and meddling that comes along with family. I want you to meet my family. Hell, I wanted you to meet my family the first week I met you. I just… didn’t want to push you too fast.”

“Says the guy who asked me to move in after dating for four months,” Kili teased. “I _want_ to meet your family. I want to be a part of your family. I might not be so good at it at first, but I want to learn.”

Fili gave him a soft smile before kissing him tenderly. “It won’t be hard, I promise. Now, open your present!”

Kili grinned at him before ripping the red paper away. He gasped at the box, though, and stared at it in shock. “I never told you…”

Sitting in his lap was a very expensive Nikon camera. He was almost afraid to touch it. He looked up at Fili with wide eyes.

“I talked to Tauriel, and she said it was a shame that you had lost all your photos in the fire because you loved photography so much,” Fili told him. “I wish you had told me you had such a passion for photography.”

He shrugged. “I never really let it get very far,” he admitted. “It wasn’t something that was practical to go into. But I always loved it.”

Fili smiled and wrapped his arms around Kili and pressed their foreheads together. “You don’t have to worry about practical anymore,” he said seriously. “You don’t ever have to worry about _anything_ anymore. I want you to do what makes you happy. Whatever that is. Just let me be at your side. That’s all I want from you.”

Kili gave him a watery smile. “I think I can handle that.”

Fin.

 


End file.
